Darren Brown, 27, pleaded not guilty through his lawyer Mario F. Gallucci, at his arraignment in state Supreme Court, St. George.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Mariners Harbor man potentially faces life in prison without the possibility of parole after being indicted Wednesday on first-degree murder charges for allegedly slaying two men in Clifton two weeks ago.

Darren Brown, 27, pleaded not guilty through his lawyer Mario F. Gallucci, at his arraignment in state Supreme Court, St. George.

Investigators believe Gray, a Stapleton resident, had been boasting about the $132,500 settlement he had received in a false-arrest lawsuit last year. Consequently, Brown thought Gray was flush with cash and an ideal robbery target, law enforcement sources said.

Brown shot and killed the victims as they fought with him over his gun, said sources.

Gray was hit in the head and Whistleon in the torso and leg, sources said.

A law enforcement source said Gray was likely carrying a few hundred dollars, but Brown ultimately didn't take the cash before fleeing.

Brown also suffered a gunshot, possibly self-inflicted, while committing the crime, law enforcement sources allege.

The defendant, who police say goes by the nickname "True Story," was ordered held without bail after his arraignment. He was ordered back to court on Feb. 28 for a conference.

Besides first-degree murder, Brown is accused of second-degree murder, attempted robbery and criminal weapon possession, said a spokesman for District Attorney Daniel Donovan.

The maximum penalty for a first-degree murder conviction is life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Gray had received $125,000 from the city and an additional $7,500 from now-imprisoned former police officer Michael Daragjati in a federal civil-rights lawsuit settlement over the summer.

Daragjati had arrested Gray in April 2011 because he complained about being stopped and "roughly" frisked on Targee Street and Laurel Avenue, Stapleton, according to court documents. The next day, the cop boasted to a friend in an intercepted phone call that he had "fried another n - - -," said court documents.